Rating: Unrated
Starring:
Frank Buxton as Batfink/Hugo A Go Go/Various Characters
Len Maxwell as Karate/The Chief/Various Characters
Special Features:
None
Other Info:
Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Dolby Digital Stereo Sound
Running Time: 8.5 Hours
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“‘My wings are like a shield of steel!’ – Batfink
Batfink, a super hero unlike anything the world’s ever seen, and his klutzy sidekick, Karate, are on a mission to put an end to crime. Facing the world’s most dangerous evil-doers, this dynamic duo takes on the likes of Queenie Bee, Victor the Predictor, Goldyunlocks, Judy Jitsu and, of course, the heinous Hugo A-Go-Go. With his metallic wings and super-sonic sonar, no villain, no matter how diabolical, can escape the justice of Batfink!
Following closely on the heels of his ABC hit ‘The Milton The Monster Show,’ Hal Seeger quickly jumped into production on what would become his longest-running cartoon series, Batfink. The show consisted of 100 five-minute episodes and has run in syndication around the world since 1967. Now all 100 action-packed episodes can be found in this box set!”
“Batfink” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
If you’re like me, you probably never heard of “Batfink.” The best way I can describe it is to say if Mighty Mouse was a take on Superman, Batfink is a take on Batman…but with a bat. At first I wondered if this was some sort of adult cartoon since it was so obscure, but it’s very much aimed at kids. At least kids from the 1960s. In fact, this cartoon is very dated. The most notable evidence of this is the character “Karate”. He features pretty much every stereotype that could be offensive to Asians. He has buck teeth, slanted eyes, a karate outfit, and talks with a bad accent. He’s a heroic character in the story, but there’s no doubt Karate would be offensive to anyone sensitive to stereotypes.
Like most cartoons from the ’60s, the animation is crude, the stories are very basic, and there’s not much in them for adults beyond nostalgia. But this cartoon is so obscure, it’s hard to imagine many people being nostalgia about it. I’d really only recommend it to die hard animation fans and Batman fans looking for a bizarre take on their hero.
